Business leaders have issued a stern response to comments by employment and workplace relations minister Bill Shorten, who said yesterday that the tide of off-shoring is a band-aid response to the high cost of doing business in Australia, and organisations could get better productivity by retaining their workers long-term.

Sickies, low productivity, workflow interruptions … the indirect costs of poor employee health are many and varied, and it’s the employer that cops it. In the fight to bolster engagement and reduce absenteeism, the latest initiative being used by employers is to increase their ‘corporate wellness’.

A common issue posed to Australian HR professionals and workplace consultants is in relation to best practice for managing personal leave entitlements, and more specifically those who obviously use their sick/carer’s leave as it accrues.

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has come under fire from industry groups for failing to properly oversee the administration of flexibility clauses in the Fair Work Act. The bottom line is that small and medium-sized businesses need more guidance.

Five years on from the official introduction of workplace reconciliation action plans (RAPs), more than 280 organisations have signed on and several of the nation’s high-profile CEOs say it’s changed the way their companies do business.